Ask the Lonely
by WordVomitComet
Summary: Eggman has attacked the Freedom Fighters once again. But little do they know, Eggman's plan is not aimed for domination, but for blood. His plan will test Sally and Amy to the limit. Can they survive this battle or will Sonic's girls be taken from the Freedom Fighters forever? This surprise sends the rest of the Freedom Fighters into panic and desperation.
1. Chapter 1

She couldn't believe it. _How do I get myself into these situations?_ She paced in the small wall to wall metal room that she and her team mate had been placed in. _How could he get away with this when all of us were right there?_

The freedom fighters had been having a picnic outside of Freedom Fighter Headquarters to celebrate their latest victory. Eggman had appeared in his repaired Egg Dragoon, the machine was being powered by one of the seven chaos emeralds. With Metal Sonic by his side he had come to seek revenge for his failure once again, but also he wanted to do some damage to the spirt of the team so he hit home.

The heroes following Sally's leadership completely destroyed the beast machine before the hour was up. Nicole distracted Metal Sonic in the meantime, screwing with his functions.

Tails had fetched the Tornado moments after the enemy and was now swooping the Egg Dragoon as Sonic speed dashed off the wing of the Tornado. He aimed for the cockpit window, breaking the glass into the evil doctor's face.

Rotor the Walrus blasted the beast machine from the ground with one of Tail's newest inventions.

Big the Cat using his super strength launched Amy Rose straight into one of the machines arms. Amy piko hammered the arm cleanly off in an explosion of sparks.

Antoine D'Coolette aimed at the lower part of the robot, breaking into it with his sword, cutting through the heavy metal like a knife through flesh.

Bunnie D'Coolette using her flying cyborg abilities dodged the machines attacks while distracting it from her teammate's advances.

Cream and Cheese being too young for this fight hid in the Headquarters and stood by in case she was needed to get back up.

The leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sally Acorn, shouted orders from her hover board as she used her Ring-Blades to cut through any attacks that came her way. She continued to do as she felt Amy land behind her on the board after Amy had finished destroying another weapon from the Egg Dragoon.

Sonic finished it off before the machine fell to the ground with an ear popping thud. Eggman crawled from the cockpit as he spit insults. Sally followed by most of the Freedom Fighters approached him with goal of finishing the war that had begun a decade ago.

Metal Sonic broke away from his fight with Nicole and ran to his master to finish the plan.

In the battle, no one had noticed the Death Egg had come through the clouds and now hovering over Freedom Fighter HQ. A fleet of badniks escaped from the floating Eggman base and was coming to the rescue of their maker. Eggman laughed at the freedom team's faces. He had thought this attack through and he wasn't finished with them yet. For once one of his "master" plans was coming together. With the raining of metal the battle began again. The fleet surrounded them in minutes upon landing on the ground, although, Tails had shot dozens of them into nothing with his bi-plane. He continued to shoot them as they landed, being careful not to hit his team mates.

Sonic jumped to the ground from the Tornado as it swooped down to gun out some more badniks. He used his homing attack, destroying tons of badniks at once and sending pieces of broken metal back into the air. Sonic had a smug smile on his muzzle as he did so.

The rest of the Freedom Fighters made their own advances on the enemy, but what was unknown to them was that Eggman had already escaped. He had jumped into his waiting escape hovercraft that his badniks had brought him. He was now resting easy in the Death Egg watching the battle through Metal Sonic, who had his own orders to follow.

Sally was back to back with Amy. Sally was the one controlling the hover board while also swinging her Ring-Blades through badniks like a knife through butter. Amy behind her looked like she was playing golf or maybe crochet with her giant hammer in hand. She knocked badniks miles away and sent the wasted metal into each other as she somehow still remained balanced on Sally's board. The two had been focused on the battle in front of them so neither of them noticed Metal Sonic charging at them at an alarming rate.

Metal Sonic threw himself at them, sending the board spinning. His orders were simple. _Capture the Freedom Fighter Leader, Princess Sally Acorn. Do not harm her unless necessary. Bring her to the Death Egg and then the rest of the plan will be unfolded to you. Do not fail me._

Amy with a squeal of surprise wrapped her arms around Sally's waist so she wouldn't go flying off in a random direction. Sally, on the other hand, her feet might as well have been glued to her board. She gained control again almost instantly and was facing Metal Sonic fearlessly.

Metal Sonic unleashed his back engine, sending himself flying straight at them. "Priority one! Target one in sight!" His low, eerie, robotic voice sent shivers down Amy's back.

Sally threw her Ring-Blades forward, meeting Metal Sonic's clawing hands with an explosion of sparks. She pushed him back with all her will, throwing him back a few feet. Sally twisted her board violently to meet Metal Sonic's head, slugging him to the side. This action made Metal Sonic's functions go haywire. Because of the turn Amy was now in front of Metal Sonic, only for a moment, but she took advantage of it. With speed she released Sally and then brought her hammer down on the still dazed robot, sending him out of the air and back to the ground below. If he had been a living person his skull would have cracked in half, that's how much force Amy had put behind her swing, but of course super strength helped with this. Sally smirked at her team member's actions before guiding the board smoothly to the ground in the hopes of finishing him off.

Metal Sonic met her in the middle. He had had enough; his master would be growing impatient by now. Metal Sonic used the rockets in his arms to put more force in throwing Sally's Ring-Blades to the side and then wrapped his cold metal hand over her wrist in an iron grip. Before anyone could react his back rocket went off and he pulled himself and Sally into the air, heading straight in the direction of the Death Egg.

"Shit," Sally shouted in surprise as her feet left the board. She realized her weapon was on the ground so all she could do was vainly try to pry Metal Sonic's hand off her wrist as fear boiled in her stomach.

Amy watched horrified as Sally was lifted into the air. She couldn't let her get away without a fight. _What if Eggman robotizes her again! Or worse!_ The thought sent a cold fear through her whole body. They were already too high up for her to use her hammer so she used Sally's board to chase them down. They were getting away, but she was having trouble learning to use the hover board beneath her. Panic began to set into both Sally and Amy so she did the thing she was best at, bear hugging. Amy threw herself off the board with all her might. She wrapped her arms around Sally once again before she fell to her death. She had hoped this would have weighted Metal Sonic down, but he didn't even notice the change.

Sally was completely helpless and horrified. "Amy!" She shouted over the wind and rocket at her team mate who was clinging to her for dear life. "What on Mobius are you doing!"

Before Amy could even try to respond the Tornado piloted by Tails was coming their way. Tails must have noticed them by the yelling and shouting the rest of the Freedom Fighters were making because he was cutting off Metal Sonic's path. The team on the ground must have just realized what was happening. Sonic followed them from the ground; he looked like a very fast ant from the height.

This was the only chance for Amy to escape as Sally realized there was nothing either of them could do for her. "Amy! Amy let go! Tails will catch you!" The thought of Amy in Eggman's clutches made her feel heavy and nauseous. "Amy, please, just go! I'll be alright! Amy this is your only chance!" Sally ordered and begged Amy desperately.

"NO," Amy shouted back as her voice cracked. Her eyes began to fill with tears, but the wind brushed them away. She couldn't watch Sally be robotized again or watch her die. The threats were too much for her. She wasn't going anywhere. "I'm not going to leave you, Sally! I don't care what you say, we're facing this together!" She squeezed Sally tighter as she buried her tear wet face into Sally's shirt.

Tails was flying away, but was going to turn back around. He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't shoot because he might hit Amy and Sally so all he could do was be an opportunity of escape. Although, he soon realized no one was going to take it. He was going to lose two of his closest friends.

The sun disappeared as they entered the shadow of the Death Egg. The pair grew more fearful the closer they got to the Death Egg main entrance. The Death Egg's main doors opened to let Metal Sonic enter. Metal Sonic released Sally upon throwing the two of them to the hard floor in front of his master. The doors closed as hundreds of badniks surrounded them.

Eggman laughed sinisterly at the catch his main robot slave had made. "Well, we meet again Princess." He didn't even pay attention to Amy yet.

Sally jumped to her feet and clenched her fists. "Doctor Robotnik, my team will be right behind us. They won't rest until this entire sky station is sinking in the ocean or completely destroyed piece by piece. With all your precious inventions and minions turned to scrap metal in the Scrap Brain Zone. And you will be shown no mercy for your crimes against Mobius." Sally's tone was full of hatred and anger. Her glare could have made the any person feel guilty for being born. Her patient, calm, justified, and steady demeanor was gone.

Amy had gained control over her emotions, but was shocked at Sally. She had never seen this side of her before. It, honestly, only made her admire Sally more. Somehow the leader was still unmoved by the evil master mind before her. She didn't even blink an eye at the army surrounding them; it was almost as if the danger around them didn't exist at all. Sally inspired Amy to jump to her feet as well and stand next to her proudly, ready to face anything. _Thank Mobius she's on my side._ "That's right, _RoButtnik_." Amy mocked him as she twirled her hammer with one hand as if asking him to challenge them.

"Well, if isn't the annoying pink hedgehog," Eggman said in a lazy tone after glancing fearfully at Sally one more time. "It seems Metal Sonic has done his job better than expected. Now I have both of the girls Sonic the Rodent runs after. This couldn't be more perfect." He laughed again before turning to a pair of badniks behind him. "Bring these two to holding sell A." The badniks nodded before Eggman turned around to his right hand robot. "Metal Sonic come we have a few things to discuss." He turned and walked away without another glance at the Freedom Fighters with Metal Sonic following at his heel.

Now the pair was in this small metal room, trying to come up with a plan of escape, but they continued to come up empty. The room was empty and it had no windows. There was no way to tell where the door is because of every wall looking exactly the same. The oddest thing was the fact that there was no sound coming from anywhere. No engines or the sounds of the badniks outside guarding or even the roaring of wind as the Death Egg traveled. Nothing, but the sounds the two made with their voices and breathing.

Amy sighed as she sunk to the floor, leaning her back to a wall. It had been hours since they had been placed in the room and she was growing hopeless. "Sally, what are we going to do?" She was used to following Sally's leadership. Not blindly, of course, but most of the time without doubt. Today, she was heavy with doubt.

Sally stopped pacing and walked over to Amy. "I don't know." She rested herself onto the floor beside Amy. "There's nothing available at the moment." She leaned against the wall and crossed her ankles.

"That's not completely true," Amy said as she nudged her. "We have us and my trusty hammer." She gestured to Sally then herself. "And we are awesome and can do anything." This statement caused Sally to smirk. "We can figure this out."

"Amy," Sally spoke gently. Her expression of amusement was replaced with one of patience and calmness. "Why didn't you escape like I told you too? Now the Freedom Fighters have not only lost me, but you. Your assistance is needed with them now more than with me. You should have left with Tails. You are as helpless as I am right now." She stared at Amy, making Amy squirm.

"I couldn't do that," Amy stated almost shouting. "No, I wouldn't do that! Freedom Fighters stick together and we fight till the end. We're loyal to each other because we're family. I wasn't going to leave you because I couldn't bear the thought of you being robotized again or the fact that you could . . . die. I wanted to be here to face where ever this adventure takes us together." Amy stopped her rambling when Sally smiled at her again. Amy huffed and crossed her arms defiantly.

"Amy, I admire your loyalty and caring, but I would rather you be with the rest of our friends fighting to save me than die or be robotized with me." Sally's tone was soft and quiet, but in this small room her voice echoed.

Amy played with her hands and avoided eye contact. "Um, thank you . . . but I just couldn't leave you. . ." She attempted to hide her blush, but failed miserably.

Sally smirked at this before getting up to pace some more. "I'm flattered, Amy Rose." She knew full well this would cause Amy to blush further and cause her to fidget. "Um," Amy coughed and rose to her feet as well. "Uh, I, um . . ." _Ugh, why do you do-_

"Hello," Eggman's voice interrupted suddenly with the raping of their ears as it blasted through the walls. "Sonic's Sluts! I am happy to announce that this is where the road ends for you! We'll see how long the two of you last in my favorite place."- Sally and Amy shared a puzzled glance- "I don't worry about the blue rodent! I'll send him the video of your deaths! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! I've watching you! We'll be dropping you off now!" His laugh roared as the floor disappeared beneath their feet. **I've wanted to write this for a while. Sorry, for the cliffhanger, but I must admit it's funny when it's not happening to me. I don't really know if I wanna put a shipping into this or not. Maybe I should just make it just an adventure and dramatic thing. Reading over this, I kinda made Sally a badass and that's pleasing. People give Sonic too much credit sometimes; don't overlook the awesomeness of all the freedom fighters. Thanks for reading by the way.**


	2. Chapter 2

The air tasted like smoke and a mixture of chemicals as it flew over their bodies. _The Chemical Plant Zone?_ The clouds they fell through left them sticky and coughing. _We are going to die,_ was on both of their minds as they free fell to the blurry ground waiting below.

Sally tried to come up with a plan before they were both destroyed by whatever lay below, but most of her concentration was focused on not screaming and panicking. _Shit! Shit! Shit!_ She couldn't face this with rational thought. It was impossible. 

Amy screamed at the top of her lungs as they plunged through the poisoned air. Her mind was blank the moment she realized that this was it. This was not an opponent she could concur; this was staring death in the face.

The clouds broke and the ground came into complete view as it grew closer. Sally finally came to her senses, tucking her arms to her sides and pressing her legs together. Sally had a plan. She aimed toward Amy as she gained speed. They collided violently, throwing the two of them to the left sharply. Amy clung to Sally desperately as her screaming died away due to her voice failing. Sally shouted, "Hold your breath!" Before Amy could respond the thick air disappeared.

Both of their eyes stung before shutting at the intense burning of the thin chemical liquid surrounding them. Amy and Sally broke their desperate embrace and swam violently to the surface. They coughed for the bitter air as they tread the chemicals. They swam toward land after gaining their sight and semi-normal breathing again. Crawling onto shore they both collapsed into the gravel like sand. The chemicals burned their entire bodies, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Amy breathed heavily as she drifted into unconsciousness. _I'm . . . still alive . . ._ It took all of her strength to turn to look at Sally. "Sally," She groaned out the name as her sight went black.

Sally rose from the ground despite her body arguing against it. She crawled to Amy and lightly nudged her shoulder. _She's fainted. The fall, chemicals, and stress were too much for her._ Sally whipped her head around at the area around them to try and guess where they were.

High walls made of concrete surrounded them. The way the walls started and ended varied. Some were higher than others; some were longer and thicker. They were almost completely covered with vines and smeared mud from age. _What is this, a maze? That sick bastard, he's toying with us._ The chemical lake was surrounded by these walls and by piles of rubble made of various metals. Sally noted that the piles were actually made from destroyed and broken badniks. _Where are we? In some kind of Eggman land dump? . . . Shit._

Sally looked back at her unconscious friend. _This is not a good place to rest. We are in the open and weak._ She struggled to her feet on her trembling legs. _Snap out of it Sally! People are depending on you! Amy's depending on you! Pull yourself together!_ Sally looked over her body for damage. There were no extreme injures besides bruising and the chemicals burning at her skin. _We need to find some kind of water source to wash these chemicals off._ She knelt in front of Amy and looked her over as well. She was fairly sure that Amy had only the same damage as herself. She took Amy in her arms bridal style to move on to a, hopefully, safer area and water source. _Please wake up soon, Amy, because I stand correct, I need you with me._

Meanwhile with the remaining Freedom Fighters at HQ.

"What do ya mean ya couldn't follow them!?" Bunnie shouted at Tails because of his early return. "Yer in a bi-plane and the Death Egg is the damn size of a small moon!" Bunnie was frightened and frustrated. She was losing her best friend all over again and this time Amy as well. She looked just about ready to strangle Tails with her robot arm.

Antione broke in and came between his wife and Tails. "Bunnie, Tails is doing his best, calm down. Let ze boy explain himself." He put his hand on her shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze.

Tails gave Antione a grateful look. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't follow them. The Death Egg continued to release flying badniks on me. The Tornado took a lot of damage and the engine was failing because of it. I'm surprised I could even make it back." Tails hung his head. He had actually considered abandoning the Tornado and chase the Death Egg using his helicopter like flying tails.

Rotor rose from his chair and approached the small fox. "Tails, where's Sonic?"

The rest of the Freedom Fighters swung their heads around, but there was no sign of the speedy blue hedgehog. They had been too focused on Tails to notice that Sonic hadn't returned yet.

"He wouldn't follow me," Tails spoke softly. "I told him I had to go back through our watch communicators, but he said he was going to keep chasing the Death Egg from the ground. He can keep up with it, but Eggman kept releasing more badniks to slow him down."

"Even if he can stay with it, there's no way for him to attack it from the ground. What happens if Eggman goes over the ocean or something? We need an air vehicle before we can come up with a rescue plan." Nicole spoke from the computer monitor on the wall. "Tails, do you have anything other than the Tornado that can fly and is operational?"

Tails thought for a moment, considering the question. "I have the Hover-Cam in my workshop, but it hasn't been used since the Kingdom of Acorn used it to travel into hostile areas and record valuable information. They gave it to me since they believed it was no longer needed. It is still working, just needs to be dusted off, although, it can't go as high as the Tornado." Tails flattened his ears on his head in embarrassment that he didn't have any else that may have been more useful. _I need to build another plane or something._ Rotor shook his head in amusement at the young fox. "Well, it's all we've got so it will have to do." Rotor stopped for a moment then snapped his fingers as if a brilliant idea had come to him. "Wait! Tails, do you think you and I could fix the Hover-Cam up? Maybe we could alter it a bit so it'll be ready for a mission like this." Rotor after all was a pretty good engineer himself.

A wide smile appeared on Tail's muzzle. "Yeah, that's a great idea! It will be like old times, us working on inventions together again. Come on let's get started so Egg _head_ doesn't get to big of a head start." Tails followed by Rotor ran out of the room toward the workshop.

"When I guess, Sonic, can tell us the location of the Death Egg when they finish. C'mon, Sugar, let's make ourselves useful and gather up supplies for the mission." Bunnie nudged her husband before heading to the weaponry with Antione at her heels.

Cream looked around at the now empty room then looked at her loyal chao, Cheese. "What are we going to do to help?" She spoke softly and sounded disappointed that they hadn't been given a job.

Nicole, who was still on the monitor, spoke making the small rabbit and chao flinch in surprise. "I know what you can do, Cream. You're a good cook. Why don't you make us all lunch? We're all so busy it seems everybody's forgotten they have to eat." Nicole smiled at the young girl, knowing that her passion was cooking and baking just like her mother.

Cream brightened up instantly and gave a squeal of joy. "I can do that! Cheese and I won't let you down, Miss Nicole!" She jumped up and down in excitement.

"I'm sure Big would be happy to have something helpful to do as well. Why don't you get him to be your helper with the cooking since your cooking for all of us?" Nicole wanted to make sure Cream didn't hurt herself cooking so it seemed like a good idea to have Big watching her.

Cream stopped jumping at darted out of the room toward the kitchen with Cheese. "Thank you, Miss Nicole!"

From the bunk rooms Nicole could hear, "Mister Big, we have work to do, you must wake up!" Nicole smiled at this. Now she had her own things to get to, but first she had to check on Sonic. She connected her communicator to his. "Sonic, its Nicole come in!"

Running through the Aquatic Ruin Zone, Sonic continued to chase the Death Egg. He hadn't been in this part of Mobius in years and he'd been running for four hours straight at around seventy miles per hour just to stay in the Death Egg's shadow.

He had almost drowned at least twice. _It was much easier running through this the first time with Tails._ His body was bruised and beaten up because of the countless battles and his stomach was growling at him. _I can't remember the last time I ate something. Ugh. Damnit Eggman, can't you see that no matter what you do we will always win so stop fucking trying!_

The watch on his wrist lit up and Nicole's face appeared on it. "Sonic, its Nicole come in!"

Sonic smirked. "Hey, Nicole, please tell he you guys have a plan! I'm still on the Death Egg, but it hasn't stopped once from what I can see. I lost it for about an hour when I got held up by a fleet of badniks that appeared out of nowhere." He speed dashed through a badnik in his path.

"We do have a plan," Nicole stated with a smile. "But it's going to take some time, though. As you know the Tornado is unable to fly at the moment so Rotor and Tails are fixing up the old Hover-Cam. We'll have to catch up to you and that may take a while as well . . . Wait, you lost the Death Egg for an hour?" Nicole's smile disappeared and sounded concerned.

Sonic glanced at his watch. "I did, but Eggman couldn't go anywhere and come back again in that little time. Right?" A wall broke in front of him and a Grounder badnik charged at him. He dodged it without dotting an eye then he destroyed it with his homing attack.

"Actually, it is possible that he could have considering the speeds the Death Egg has. Also Eggman has many escape pods and flying badniks. He could have taken Sally and Amy anywhere in an hour if he really wanted too." Nicole droned with a thoughtful look.

"Fuck," Sonic cursed in frustration. "Well, what are we going do now!? They could be anywhere!"

"Well, don't panic! We can't lose our heads. Sally and Amy are depending on us and I'm sure the two of them are probably already have a plan of escape. Just keep following the Death Egg and updating us. We'll be there soon to back you up, Sonic, just hang in there." Nicole was sympathetic for the blue hedgehog. She had never seen him this desperate before.

"Ok," Sonic panted out as he dodged a flying arrow that had come out of an ivy covered column. It was surprising that all the abandoned badniks and traps were still operational after all these years. "I'll keep at it, but you guys better move your butts cuz I'm hungry." As if on cue his stomach growled.

Nicole laughed. "Of course, we'll bring you something to munch on, Sonic. I must go and help finish with preparations, but I'll check on you in an hour. If you have any trouble call us right away."

"You got it Nicole and thanks," Sonic breathed out heavily with relief, feeling reinsured again.

Nicole's face disappeared with a "Goodbye" and he was alone again. He hated this to be honest. He was beyond tired, his stomach was eating itself, and . . . all of his friends were so many miles away. _Please be alright . . . They have to be._ For the first time in his life his legs were burning, urging him to stop. _Sal and Ames are fine. They have to be._ He glared at the sky station above him. _You will pay for this. You won't get away this time._ He smiled as his realized he was coming to the end of the Aquatic Ruin Zone. _Finally, it should be easier to follow him now._ He argued with his body and picked up speed. _They're alright. They have to be._

All the while Eggman watched Sonic chasing his Death Egg's shadow from below. "Foolish rodent, you've already lost." He felt victorious as his plan finally came together.

"Shall I put him out of his misery, Sir," Metal Sonic's robotic voice filled the air.

"Yes, wear him down some more, Metal Sonic. Give him a good beating, but don't kill him. I want that blue rodent to suffer for all he's caused me. I want to destroy his hope a little at a time." Eggman didn't look at his right-hand robot, still staring at the blue spot below them.

"Yes, Sir," Metal Sonic said coldly before making his way to the hanger on the other side of the sky station.

"You're going beg for the lives of your pathetic friends by the time I'm done with you, foul hedgehog. This time there is no way I can lose." Eggman said lowly as he turned his attention to his monitors. He'd noticed the Princess was on the move with the pink hedgehog in her arms. "Oh, Princess, your courage is honorable, but this is a battle you will not survive.

 **Thanks for reading. I realize this story is kinda dark, but I think it's better that way. I hope ya'll enjoyed it and are finding it interesting. Also I'm grateful for comments.**


	3. Chapter 3

This "maze" was the strangest zone she'd ever been in. _And that's saying something._ Since she and her friends formed the Freedom Fighters as young kids, wanting to defend their homes, they had seen tons of different zones on Mobius.

Amy was leaning against a wall. Sally had carried her a few miles before deciding to rest in the shade of a wall and try once again to form a plan of escape. _This place doesn't seem to end. Eggman said we're going to die in here. I wonder if he meant by starvation or dehydration._ She sighed in frustration. _We've been in here at least three hours and the suns going down. We have no supplies or a way to make a fire for the night._ She kicked the dust and looked back at Amy.

Amy hadn't woken up yet, but her breathing was even and steady. Sally figured she was simply exhausted.

The picnic was supposed to be a way to celebrate and relax after the previous battle that had taken weeks to win. The Freedom Fighters had felt completely victorious, physically drained, and worn only to be attacked again a day later. The team freedom had given it their all, as usual, but it seemed like they were paying for their bone-tiredness and foolish thinking that they had won a battle in the never ending war.

Amy shivered and cracked her eyes open slowly. _Where am I? Holy Chaos does my skin burn._ Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the twilight. _Ugh, I feel like I've been hibernating._ Amy noticed a gentle weight on her shoulder so she opened her eyes fully and turned her head. Sally was kneeling in front of her with a concerned expression. "Sally, what's going on and where are we?" Her voice was hoarse and her throat hurt along with everything else. Studying Sally, she noticed how rough and beaten up Sally appeared. So before Sally could respond Amy spoke again. "Oh, Chaos, please tell me my hair looks better than yours does right now!"

"It's good to see you too Amy," Sally chuckled then smirked evilly. "Actually, your quills are probably the worst I've ever seen them and your skin is red and puffy due to the chemical pond."

Amy squeaked in horror. "Really?"

Sally sat down next to her. "No, your hair is fine, Amy, but honestly your skin really is that ugly." Her remark earned her a shove and a glare. "Oh, come on Amy!" Sally laughed at the pink hedgehog. "For Mobius's sake, your hair is not a big deal. And to answer your previous questions. I believe we are in some kind of maze zone where Eggman dumps his inventions and broken minions. This must be where he planned for us to die." Sally gestured to the world around them as she finished her statement.

Amy looked at Sally, baffled by the new information. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Sally snorted un-lady like.

"Super," Amy said sarcastically. "What's the plan on getting out of here?" She rubbed the back of her head as her headache disappeared.

Sally glanced at the sky, looking past the clouds. "I know the teams coming for us. We have to both survive and try to escape this place. Eggman said he'd be watching us, I just wonder how his doing that. There's something _off_ about this place. It's so quiet. So I don't think there's any wild life around. In the zones I've seen there is always some kind of . . . movement."

"Yeah, this place is giving me the creeps." Amy rose to her feet without too much of a struggle. "Can we move on now?"

Sally stood up next to her. "Of course, but I think we should find some kind of shelter for the night. We don't know if there's anything in here with us and we need to find water soon. Serious chemical burns and dehydration are real threats right now." Taking charge as usual, she began to walk in the direction of the sun setting on the horizon.

"No, kidding Sally! My skin inches like hell right now." Amy huffed angrily as she violently scratched her arms. "I don't think it's a good idea to sit in one place too long. We'll be sitting ducks!" She ran after her friend.

"Amy, we don't know this place and the sun is going down. We'll be staggering around helpless in complete darkness." Sally didn't slow down her stride as Amy caught up to her. _We're running out of daylight. I have a feeling Eggman has a few surprises for us._

Amy matched Sally's fast walk. _Ugh. There's no point arguing. She's right . . . as usual._ Amy sighed. "True. Alright, let's just get on with it." She sped up, running ahead of her friend.

Sally automatically picked up speed as well. She was not as fast as the pink hedgehog regardless of her legs being longer, but she followed Amy as closely as she could manage. _If only we had more time._

Cream made her way out of the kitchen and through the common room to Tail's workshop. The tray she was holding held freshly made sandwiches along with beverages. Her loyal chao followed closely behind her holding napkins. As they entered the workshop they noticed the smell of oil and the sounds of blow torches at work. "Mr. Rotor, Tails, we brought lunch!" The small rabbet shouted loudly over the noise. "I hope you're hungry!"

Rotor appeared from behind the rust bucket of a Hover Cam and walked towards them. "Are we ever! Thanks Cream and you too Cheese!" He took a sandwich in his unwashed hand after giving the rabbet and chao a thumbs up.

"Oh, thank, chaos," Tails sighed in relief. "We could do with a break. Thanks guys!" He also took a sandwich without hesitation. "Any news on Sonic," Tails questioned with a mouth full of food.

"Yes," Cream squealed excitedly. "Nicole talked to him! He's till with the Death Egg, but Eggman might have taken Mrs. Sally and Amy somewhere else."

"What," Rotor coughed out his food in shock causing Cheese to kindly hand him a napkin.

"Yes," Cream explained with confidence. "That's what Mr. Sonic said. He couldn't find the Death Egg for over an hour so we don't know what to think. Don't worry though I'm sure Mrs. Sally and Amy can take care of themselves and after you guys finish the Hover Cam we can go help Mr. Sonic track them down."

"Yeah, they're fine," Tails spoke with hesitation and doubt layering his tone.

Rotor put a comforting hand on the two tailed fox's shoulder. "We'll save them, Tails. Now hurry up we've gotta finish this dang hover saucer before Sonic's legs cave underneath him. "Right," Tails said with more confidence. He finished his lunch eagerly then followed the walrus's lead back to tools to begin repairing the hover machine again.

Cream smiled at them before skipping off back to the kitchen. She still had to make lunch for herself, Cheese, and Mr. Big. "Come on Cheese, let's go and leave them to work."

The chao wearing his red bow tie nodded in agreement and followed his companion.

Sonic glared at the ground in frustration. _Why are they taking so long? I have to rest soon before my legs fall off._ His uneven breathing and stomach had become louder, demanding to stop and eat. There was nothing he could do though. The Death Egg hadn't slowed down or sped up; it was as if it wanted to torture him. _The farther away we get the longer it's going to take them to catch up._

Eggman seemed to be avoiding the more dangerous zones since they had left Aquatic Ruin Zone. It made Sonic think he had something was up, but he wouldn't stop _. I wouldn't stop even if they hit the ocean._ Although, he'd never admit it, he cared about the both of them more then he should. _I'll keep on running._ He hadn't been surprised when Amy wouldn't let Sally go either, but he knew it wasn't like _that_. _She's just too selfless._ It made his ears itch and stomach drop when he really considered what was happening.

"Sugar Hog!," his watch shouted as Bunnie's face appeared on it, interrupting his train of thought.

"I got you Bunnie," He panted with a weak smile.

"How are ya holdin' out? Sorry, I'm not Nicole, but the old girl had to help Rotor and Tails. They're almost finished. We should be after ya'll before the sun sets."

"I'm fine, just a little tired and hungry. That's good to hear, Bunnie, cuz I'm getting a bad feeling Eggman's got something planned for me." He smirked confidently. "Not that it isn't something I can't handle."

"Take it easy, Sugar Hog. Yer pushing yerself to the limit as it is, don't go and do somethin' stupid. We'll be there soon so ya can rest and eat so just hang on. If ya really need to stop or turn round', do it. We've already lost Sal and Amy don't let us go loosin' you too."

"I'm fine, Bunnie. Don't worry about me. Can't wait to see you guys so stop talking to me and get on with it. Oh, and tell Tails I'm alright. My buddy worries too much too."

Bunnie laughed. "Sorry, for caring bout' you, Sonic. I'll tell him. Bye, Sugar Hog." Her face disappeared. '

Sonic smirked to himself. _Finally! I'm dying out here._

Tails slammed the back hood of the Hover Cam, feeling pretty proud of himself. He walked around it to stand beside Rotor and Nicole. "I think that's it," He said happily with a large smile.

"Ok, let's start loading up the stuff and get out of here," Rotor shouted as he ran out of the workshop, probably to get the rest of the team informed.

"Wait a moment, Tails," Nicole said softly. "Here I'd like you to install this." She handed him the light blue Chaos Emerald they had stolen from Eggman only a few days ago. "It will be much easier and faster to catch up to Sonic with it powering the Hover Cam."

Tails smile brightened. "That's a great idea! Thanks Nicole!" He ran quickly back to the Hover Cam to install it.

Nicole smiled at him. _We have to hurry._

They were losing light as the sun continued to vanish from the sky. They had run for a few minutes then settled into a jog. A comfortable silence had fallen between them as they tried to complete their task. Both of their legs were burning from exhaustion and chemicals.

Amy with her energy boost gone was staggering behind Sally. She panted and dragged her feet after herself. "Sally, can we please take a break!" She grabbed Sally's arm to anchor her to a stop.

Sally turned to her and sighed. "We don't have the time, Amy."

Amy squeezed her arm. "It's all ready to late. We'll be in complete darkness soon. We need to do like you said and stick through the night."

Sally nodded. "Alright, let's go." She ran with Amy in tow.

"That's not what I meant!" She exclaimed with frustration. "I meant we should sit through the night right here! Not keep going and find some other place!" She stopped completely, halting Sally. "My legs are killing me! Can we please just rest?" She sunk to her knees in exhaustion. _Chaos, I'd kill for a bed and some water right now._

Sally wasn't even paying attention to her; she was too busing staring at something past her. She had this stunned look on her face like she'd she a ghost.

Amy swung her head in the direction of her stare to find the oddest badnik she'd ever seen staring back at them. _What is that thing? Can I even call it a badnik?_ She slowly rose back to her feet and squeezed Sally's hand again because neither of them had let go.

Sally hadn't broken her staring contest with the humanoid gray and black soldier like machine. "It can't be," Sally whispered softly. "They were all destroyed during the Great War."

Amy looked at her with a confused expression then looked back at the machine's red visor. "Sally, what is it?" Fear starting to build up in her chest.

The machine came to life. It advanced toward them with its feet thundering the ground. "Priority One, located," Its voice droned as it raised its arm, pointing its wrist at them.

Sally broke out of her trance and turned to the confused pink hedgehog. "Run."

Metal Sonic left the Death Egg in great heist. "Priority One, targeted!" His voice echoed through the trees of the forest that the Death Egg had come to rest over. Eggman had halted the sky station to enjoy the show and wait for his right hand robot's return.

Sonic's head shot up at the familiar voice. "Metal Sonic!" _I knew it! I knew he was going to try something!_ He brought up clouds of dust as he slid across the ground to a stop. "Bring to on you hunk-a-junk! I'm not done for yet!" He swung his head around, preparing himself for whatever direction his machine doppelganger came from.

The forest was quiet, nothing but the wind blowing through leaves and birds singing softly. He turned in circles, staring at the sky, but it was clear besides the Death Egg that glared down at him.

Metal Sonic had the advantage due to his night vison in the darkness. He watched as his opponent spun around stupidly under the dim light of the moon. He bitterly hated the mad doctor he served, but his hatred for the hedgehog he was built after was on a much higher shelf. Metal Sonic triggered his back rocket with maximum power, shooting himself straight into his target's side.

Sonic was thrown into a pine tree with enough force to break it in half. He could feel the broken wood rip into his back and his worn body being slammed onto the ground face-first. Sonic cried out in agony. _Holy Sol Emeralds! Holy Chaos! Holy Power Rings!_ He gasped at the pain that swallowed his body. Black dots clouded his vison as he staggered to his feet. _Walk it off, Sonic. You can do anything._ He shook his head in an attempt to clear his vison and head. He looked up from the ground to meet the lifeless eyes of evil machine before him.

"Mission: Severely injure Sonic the Hedgehog!" Metal Sonic marched through the trees toward his waiting victim.

Sonic brought his fists from his sides of his body to his chest. "Bring it on, you fucking robot!" His voice was hoarse and full of pain.

Metal Sonic did what the blue hedgehog asked. He left the ground in flight, aiming himself at his target with amazing speed. Sonic easily dodged to the right as Metal Sonic flew past him. _You can do anything._ He took advantage of Metal Sonic's back being turned and spin dashed through a bush straight into his head. Metal Sonic was caught by surprise at this action, thinking his opponent was too weak to strike back. He smashed to the ground then rolled out of control into the thick trunk of an oak tree. Sonic ignored the pain flowing through his body as he landed on his feet again. He jogged to his enemy's position, preparing himself for a homing attack. Before Sonic could attack again Metal Sonic raised his arm and blasted his hand gun into Sonic's face. Sonic's hands instantly came to his face as he felt the fire burn through his flesh. He screamed as he collapsed because his body was betraying him. Metal Sonic rose to his feet. Sonic's vison became darker and darker until he saw nothing at all as he gave into his exhaustion.

The last thing he could hear was Sally laughing. " _Sonic, you can do anything_." **Can anybody guess what oh so special machine is after Sally and Amy?**

 **Next time: The Freedom Fighters finally catch up to the Death Egg only to find Sonic, dead or dying? Sally and Amy survive another day or are terminated by an old foe?**


	4. Chapter 4

The Hover Cam hovered across the Aquatic Ruin Zone at high speed, but the air saucer was not very agile so they tended to hit obstacles in their path. They were tracking Sonic's location through his watch communicator and were concerned due to Sonic remaining in the same spot for half an hour. Bunnie and Antione flew alongside the saucer; Bunnie using her cyborg abilities and Antione using Sally's hover board. Tails piloted the Hover Cam with Rotor, Big, Nicole, Cream and Cheese as passengers.

"Iz Sonic still in ze same place?" Antione was as concerned as the others for the hedgehog. It was strange for him to sit still for so long. Even at night Sonic seemed to be out and about after a quick cat nap.

"Yes," Nicole said feeling heavy with uneasiness. "He seems to be in a small clearing in the middle of the forest." She stared blankly into the distance as she spoke.

"Maybe the Sugar-Hog just fell unconscious after all this stress. He has been going without rest for like ten hours straight." Bunnie jumped in and tried to reassure everybody just like Sally would have done, although, she wasn't as convincing.

"I just hope he's okay," Tails said, worrying.

"I'll bet he's napping in the shade of a tree," Cream stated sweetly. "Just waiting for us to come to him." She smiled with her big rabbit ears flapping in the wind.

"That's the spirit, Cream," Rotor roughed up her hair as he pat her on the head.

Big looked up with a dumb struck expression. "I think he's dead."

. . . . .

One foot in front of the other, running because it always seemed like they're lives depended on it. The days of running for fun seemed like a hollow memory now. They both kicked up clouds of dust behind them, but through it till was the machine. It wasn't as fast, but it had patience. Sally saw through the fading twilight the ground was ending ahead. Amy was too busy swinging her head back to the machine to notice. The humanoid machine lifted it's wrist again, but this time the blaster worked. Blue laser beams flew through the air and exploded on contact with everything it hit. They picked up they're pace as the beams burst and erupted at their heels. Sally plunged to the ground as it ended, dragging Amy with her. They both rolled down the steep hill out of control as the beams blew up dead grass and dirt blew up into the air around them. Everything spun as they were both beaten by the earth, but as quickly as it begun it was over. Sally was on her feet again, pulling Amy up. The machine remained at the top of the hill firing down at them.

"Move," Sally shouted with authority. Never letting go of her hand, Sally lead the way as they tracked across the small field toward the walls ahead.

They collapsed to the soft ground once they were safely out of sight. Amy leaned against the wall and panted. "Now can we (pant), please, (pant) sit here forever?" She brushed a quill from her face and then tried to dust off some of the dirt off herself.

"Yes," Sally whispered, completely exhausted.

"What was that thing," Amy questioned after a moment.

Sally sighed. "Amy I thought you were obsessed in all things that involve Sonic saving the world."

"Hey! I'm not obsessed!"

"Amy, the inside of your closet is like a Freedom Fighter shrine."

"Hey! That's not- Wait, how do you know what's in my closet?!"

"Do you remember the Acorn Banquet and Ball?"

"Oh, Chaos! That's right; you were helping me pick out an outfit . . . Which, by the way, you were more than useless at." Amy smirked at her own truthful joke.

Sally snorted. "Well, sorry, I'm not into all that fancy girly shit like you are." She snorted again. "Which _, by the way_ , Amy, all of your clothes leave nothing to the imagination."

Amy's muzzle turned bright red with embarrassment as she became defensive. "How dare you say such a thing to me! Especially, considering you walked around in the _nude_ for years! It's no wonder Eggman robotized you because it was the only way for you to start wearing clothes!" She huffed and crossed her arms.

Sally burst into laughter. She was laughing so hard her sides hurt and the more minutes that flew by with Sally's amused giggling the redder Amy's face became. "Ok- ok, I'm done," Sally snickered. "Sorry, for _scarring_ you all those years with lack of clothes. It wasn't like I was completely nude; I had my blue vest on." She playfully shook her head and tucked at her worn vest. "I don't get why the guys can walk around with nothing on, but their fur and we can't."

"I didn't say scarring, I just-

"Oh, really?" Sally smirked.

Amy turned away and fiddled with her fingers. "We're getting off topic. Can you please just answer my question?"

Sally sighed. "It was a SWAT Bot. They were once used as police enforcement in Old Mobotropolis before Eggman betrayed the Acorn Kingdom. Then they were converted to the primary ground troops and workers during Eggman's rule. They were the backbone of the Eggman Empire back in their time. I thought all of them were either destroyed or still functioning as bouncers in Casino Night Zone."

"What are we just lucky to run into one," Amy stalely joked.

"Or Eggman wanted to have a collection of his robots in an abandoned zone that's in a secret location so he could one day have a laugh by throwing us in here to die." Sally rose to her feet and noticed her boots felt heavier. She glanced down. _Mud!_

"I guess that makes more sense . . . Um, Sally?" She couldn't see her face because the darkness had finally swallowed them.

Sally ignored her. _Mud means water has to be close by._ She searched for Amy through the darkness until she found her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Wait, what are you doing?" Sally ignored her again as she tugged her forward. Sally dragged one hand upon the ground and followed the mud. "Great, you've gone crazy. That just makes this the best day ever. What am I supposed to tell the team? Sorry, guys, but Sally went insane on our little vacation. I swear I didn't beat the crap out of her with my hammer."

Sally swung around and slammed her muddy hand over Amy's mouth. "There are probably robots and badniks of all kinds in here and they are all programed to kill us so I'd really appreciate it if you shut up, Amy." She whispered urgently.

Amy flinched and swatted Sally's hand away. "Ew! I can't believe you put your disgusting hand on my mouth. Oh, chaos, this day can't get any worse." She rubbed her mouth with her sleeve.

Sally rolled her eyes, thanking Mobius that it was too dark for Amy to see her face. "Sorry, Amy, but I think this mud will lead us to water."

Amy grabbed Sally by the shoulders and shook her. "Where is the water, Sally?! I'm dying!"

"Would you stop being so hysterical," Sally said as she took Amy's hand and began following mud trail again until she felt a cool liquid lapping at her ankles. _Finally, some good news._

. . . . . . .

"Holy Chaos Emeralds," Tails gasped. Before them was the blue hedgehog they had been looking for, crumpled unconscious on the ground in a tight ball. The Hover Cam's head lights showed Sonic's bruised, beaten, and bloody body. For the first time in his life his big brother looked small. "Sonic!" His voice rose a few octaves at the sight.

"Oh mon Dieu!" Antione was the first to Sonic's side.

"Sugar Hog! Is he still alive!" Bunnie flew down and landed next him.

"Oui, he'z still breathing, but it'z shallow."

"He'd better get him back to HQ!" Rotor shouted hopping out of the hover saucer."

"There's no time," Nicole whispered sounding hopeless.

Tails jumped out of the Hover Cam and ran toward them. "Oh, Mobius, come on Sonic you can beat this. Cream, get the first aid kit!"

Cream was already on next to him before he could finish his sentence. Her mother and Dr. Quack had taught her a lot about healing and injuries. "Stand back so I can fix him up." She said softly as she opened up the kit.

"Can you help him?" Tails had tears threating to spill and his voice cracked.

"Of course, I think most of this is just from exhaustion." Her voice was amazingly sweet. She began cleaning his wounds.

Tails breathed a sigh of relief. _I feel like we're all falling apart. At this rate there won't be any Freedom Fighters left._

 **Sorry, it's so short. Of course, I couldn't seriously injure Sonic. Where's the fun in that. I really enjoyed the banter between Sally and Amy. I thought it was funny.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Greetings."

A smooth robotic voice broke her from a deep sleep, but she brushed it off as her imagination. Her eyes remained shut and she laid still. Willing to drown herself in sleep again.

"I will not depart simply because you have refused to acknowledge my existence. I need your assistance and I shall not disappear from your presence until you cooperate." A loud thud accompanied the last sentence.

Amy jumped and her eyes flew open. She and Sally must have fallen asleep in the night. She never thought she could have fallen asleep in a place like this, but during all their talking they must have drifted off. She had been using Sally's arm as a pillow, but now she squeezed it in an attempt to awake her companion.

Sally flinched at the painful compression on her arm. The sun was up and the ground had showed no mercy to her body in the night. Her muscles still ached, even after washing off the Eggman's chemicals. She noticed Amy's grip had not eased even after looking at her, proving she was awake. She followed Amy's stare and her jaw dropped a little.

Omega, the muscle and walking weaponry of Team Dark, was kneeling in front of them with his robot eyes beaming. "Greetings, Freedom Fighters, Princess Sally Acorn and Amy Rose."

"Hello, Omega. What are you doing in here?" Sally sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, realizing this wasn't a dream.

"Dr. Ivo Robotnik captured me from a formally hidden secret G.U.N. base and brought me to this unknown location. He attempted to wipe my memory; to turn me into the mindless killing machine I was before Gamma sent me the free will code." He stood up and cast his large shadow on them, not meaning to be imitating. "I believe his motive was to have me betray G.U.N. and kill the two of you without mercy."

Amy tackled Omega, but, of course, he solidly stayed upon his feet. She hugged him tight with her super strength which had no effect on the well build robot. "Aw, you poor guy! How did you mange staying your sweet same old self?" She released him and dropped to the ground.

He pat Amy on the head kindly. Gamma had gone rogue freeing Amy and a flicky bird from an Eggman base. Gamma's memories had been uploaded into Omega's subconscious right before Gamma's death. Omega saw the world as Gamma had, because of this Omega had a special fondness for the pink hedgehog. Without her assistance he never would have gained free consciousness. "The free will code apparently cannot be reversed. The Doctor gave up and threw me into here, anticipating that his slaves would destroy me. I assume he has placed the both of you in here to seek revenge upon Sonic?"

"Yes," Sally nodded, stretching as she stood up. "And I assume you want to team up and find a way out of here together?"

"I believe it is the best chance we have if we would like to continue existing," Omega responded, not missing a beat.

"I agree," Amy chirped. "with Mister Roboto!"

"No kidding," Sally smiled. "We could use all the help we can get and with the three of us we can take on anything Eggman dares to throw at us."

"That is why I began my search for you the moment I was placed in here," Omega droned. "The fat fool will have to deal with not only me when we escape, but Team Dark also. Knowing Shadow he will be furious."

"Not to mention the Freedom Fighters beating the crap outta him too," Amy punched the air with playful aggression. "I can't wait to flatten his face with my hammer."

Omega nodded, enjoying the hedgehog's enthusiasm.

"Omega, do you have any idea what time of day it is," Sally questioned, glancing at the sky.

"It is late morning," Omega answered. "The both of you slept for a restful six hours."

"Um . . . you watched us sleep," Amy said, raising an eyebrow. "That's creepy."

Omega turned to her and did a stiff robotic shrug. "Is it? Shadow crawls into Rouge's room every night and watches her sleep while listening to Taylor Swift sing Eyes Open on repeat through his earbuds. He is an Ultimate Life Form so he doesn't sleep just as I a robot doesn't."

Amy looked at him wide eyed. _What the fuck!_

Sally waved her arms around in denial. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that!" She shook her head as she tried to erase the image from her mind. "Can we please just go now?"

"Affirmative," Omega said. "Also say nothing to Shadow or Rouge because I was supposed to keep that information classified."

"We won't say a word about it, Omega. Hopefully by then I'll have it blocked out of my mind." Sally led the make-shift team and began to walk in a random direction, seeking a way to get back to their friends. _Chaos, I hope this will be easier now with Omega by our side._

. . .

The world was spinning and he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. _Mobius, does my head hurt._ He felt wind hitting his body, running through his fur and quills. _Am I still running?_ His memories of fighting Metal Sonic came flooding back to him. _No! What is this?_ He cracked his eyes open to discover a pair of purple feet staring back at him. _Oh, Chaos, I'm dead and Barney the stupid dinosaur is in heaven. That's so not cool._ He didn't dare move; his entire body was throbbing with pain. He moaned with agony and lifted his eyes, thinking he'd probably see a purple pitiful dinosaur leaning over him, but instead his blurry vision met Rotor. _Thank the Source of All!_

"Hey Sonic," Rotor said happily. "You're awake!"

Creams knelt beside Sonic and pat his head gently. "Don't move Mister Sonic, your injuries aren't that bad, but your body's still not taking them well due to your lack of rest."

Tails was driving, but he glanced back anyway to see Sonic's face. "You scared the Power Rings outta us Sonic! Why did you keep chasing Eggman when you knew you couldn't take it?"

Sonic gave them his trademark smirk. "Hey gang, you saved me in the nick of time, but I could have chased that thing forever, little bro, if Eggman's girlfriend hadn't shown up." He lifted his head best he could as Cream scoot a pillow underneath it.

"Metal Sonic did this to you," asked Nicole from seat behind him.

"Yup," said Sonic cheerfully. "He likes to play rough, that one. Now I've got a question. Where are we? And no offense bud, but you should start wearing shoes cuz my sense of smell is dying."

"It's good to see that this hasn't beat up your spirt, Sonic," chuckled Rotor.

"Seriously, dude, my nose is gonna start bleeding any minute," Sonic said making gagging gestures.

Cream and Cheese giggled. "We're in the Hover Cam, Mister Sonic. The Death Egg hasn't moved since Metal Sonic bullied you. Tails is driving underneath it then we can think of a plan."

"Great," Sonic said lightheartedly. "Now we can finally see some action!"

From Sally's hover board a few feet away Antione laughed. "Sonic, you juzt got the butt handed to you and already you want to fight again."

"I didn't lose! Metal-Face just ran off like the coward he is! Nobody can beat down this Hedgehog!" Sonic with a confident smile defended his honnor.

"Sugar Hog, you were a defenseless mess when we found you," Bunnie giggled from above them.

"After my victory I took a nap so sue me!" Sonic scowled.

"Sure, whatever, Sonic," Tails laughed.

They didn't feel complete, but all of them felt a bit better knowing Sonic was alright. The team felt little lost without Sally's leadership and hollowness fell over them without Amy's bubby-self pushing them forward. They'd do anything and would never stop until their teammates were with them again.

Tails guided the Hover Cam into the Death Egg's shadow. "Ok guys, now what," Tails questioned. "Rotor and I did alter this thing, but it's still limited how high it can go. At best we'll only get a few feet above the tree line."

"That sucks bro!" Sonic sat up with a grunt before continuing. "Why didn't you just use our transforming cars? Those would have been perfect for this."

"We only have three of those," Tails responded. "We needed something to hold all of us."

"Speaking of all of us," Sonic said looking around. "Where's Big?"

"Big had to stay at HQ," Nicole answered matter-of-factly. "We couldn't leave it defenseless."

"You forgot to mention the fact that the guys fat enough to have this hover saucer dragging the ground." Sonic smirked.

Cream wagged her finger at him. "That's a very mean thing to say Mister Sonic," Cream scowled him like he was the one who was six. "If you don't have any nice to say don't say-

"Guys, we've got company!" Bunnie interrupted.

Tails slowed down, noticing the shapes of people ahead also. "They don't look like badniks."

"That's because we're not," a familiar growl rang through the trees.

Tails stopped the Hover Cam in front of them. Shadow and Rouge walked towards them casually as if it was regular ordeal to meet people underneath a sky station that had the ability's to destroy half of Mobius.

"Hey Shadz and Rouge," Sonic rose to his feet, refusing to show weakness to his rival. "Nice day isn't it?"

"Shut it, Faker," Shadow snarled. "What are you doing here?"

Bunnie landed next to them and glared at the black hedgehog. "No reason to get angry, Shadow. We've just got some business with Eggman then we'll be on our way."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "What business might that be, Rabbit?"

Cream hopped out of the saucer and walked over to them. "Hello Mister Shadow and Miss Rouge!" Cream smiled and said cheerfully. "Eggman kidnapped Miss Sally and Amy. We've come rescue them!"

Their expressions and body language changed instantly. Shadow looked away from the small rabbit and turned to Sonic. "It seems we are on the same boat, Faker. The Doctor has taken Omega and we are here to rescue him as well."

The Freedom Fighters looked shocked by this new information as they all gathered around the two Team Dark members, unanswered questions buzzing through their minds.

"Why would Eggman want Omega, Sally, and Amy? Somethings fishy about this, guys." Rotor exclaimed. "He must have something bigger planned then we thought."

"Yez, but what?" Antione's voice quivered. "The man iz crazy! He could be doing anything az we speak."

"I agree with you Twian, but now here's what I think we should do." Shadow groaned as Sonic continued. "We should team up, Faker. We both have the same mission here so why not?"

Rouge and Shadow glanced at each other. Shadow shook his head, but gave in when Rouge glared at him. "Fine, we will team up with you, but don't you dare start throwing orders at me."

"Great," Tails said tiredly. "But how are we going to get into the Death Egg?"

Shadow smirked, showing off his fangs. "Simple, fox boy, Chaos Control."

"Ya'll have a Chaos Emerald," Bunnie asked.

"Oh, please, Shaddy, doesn't go anywhere without it," Rouge scoffed.

"That's perfect!" Sonic nudged Shadow with his elbow much to the black hedgehog's dislike. "You thing you can get us all up there at the same time, Shadz, or will this laundry load be too much for you?"

Shadow shoved him away. "Faker, I'm an Ultimate Life Form, I can do anything."

"Besides listen, sleep, love, hope, be a person people want to be around, or laugh." Rouge listed with a smile, counting with her fingers. This caused Shadow to glare at her. "I could go on."

"Please do," Sonic smirked at Shadow's discomfort.

"Guys come on, this is serious," Nicole interrupted their teasing. "We don't know the lay out of the Death Egg so how is Shadow supposed to teleport us in there without us getting noticed?"

"Shadow and I used to work for Eggman remember," Rouge stated. "We've been in the Death Egg hundreds of times. We know what we're doing when it comes to getting in, but we need an escape plan."

"I'll teleport us into the loading dock. We shouldn't draw any attention there, but if we do the badniks in there are easily destroyed. All they are built for is unloading supplies from flying badnik ships. We should spilt up, gather information _without_ getting caught, and meet back in the loading dock. If any of us manage to find the squirrel princess, Rose, or Omega don't attempt a rescue until fox boy is present because there are alarms and assume he knows how to disable them." Shadow raised an eyebrow at Tails.

Tails nodded. "Yes, I can do that, but what happens if we are noticed and the entire Eggman Empire tries to kill us?"

"Then I leave you for dead," Shadow growled as leaned over the small fox menacingly.

"Wow, Shadz, chill," Sonic said. "If we're caught we'll fight them off and retreat back to the loading dock where you _will_ teleport _all_ of us back here."

"I suppose it's the best plan we can come up with under the circumstances," Nicole said.

"Let's do it to it then gang," Sonic said while running his finger underneath his nose with a smug grin.

"I hate that almost as much as you," Shadow grumbled crossing his arms.

"That's the spirit, Faker! Now teleport us to the metal egg in the sky, times a wasting!" Sonic said with excitement.

"Cream, I think it'd be best if ya and Cheese stayed here," Bunnie said putting a hand on her shoulder. "This is gonna be dangerous and yer too young for this. Just stay here and keep the Hover Cam running."

"Ok, Miss Bunnie," Cream said sweetly as she ran and hopped back into the Hover Cam. "We'll be here! Cheese, guess what I brought a puzzle!" Cheese squealed in delight as they tore open the box.

"Oh, that funny bunny and I are so different," Sonic chuckled.

"Let's juzt get thiz over with," Antione stated dryly.

"Fine, Twain," Sonic said clapping his hands together. "Ok everybody hold hands cuz we have to be connected for this to work." He turned to Shadow as everyone took hands, offering his own hand to Shadow with a grin. "Beam us up, Scotty."

Shadow snorted at his rival. "I hate you, Faker." With a look of disgust he slipped his larger hand into Sonic's slim one. He grunted at contact before turning away to take his hidden green chaos emerald out of his quills. "Alright, don't be stupid and use your common sense unlike the, Faker. . . CHAOS CONTROL!" A green flash swallowed them and they disappeared into thin air.

Cream and Cheese gasped. They'd heard of Chaos Control, but they'd never seen it with their own eyes. "Wow, Cheese that was amazing!" Cheese cheered happily in response. "I hope they come back alright."

 **I wanted to shake things up a bit. So I added Team Dark to the mix. Why would Eggman have a collection of his robots without the robot that got away? I assume ya'll know who Gamma is if ya'll have watched Sonic X or read the comics.**


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm so bored." Amy groaned as she dragged her feet. "And I'm hungry."

"And your complaining isn't helping," Sally grunted still marching, ignoring her hunger.

"Whining is the only thing motiving me to keep going because my entire existence is to annoy you." Amy smirked.

"Why? I mean I'm flattered, but seriously why?"

"Because the Source of All wants you to be miserable, I enjoy annoying you, and you are not allowed to live happily ever after with Sonic." Amy snickered.

"Apparently not," Sally grinned at her. "But be careful because I'll return your favor."

"You two are very amusing," Omega commented cheerfully. "Especially, when displaying your obvious affections for each other. It is a wonderful break for me. I'm quite sick of listening to Shadow and Rouge quarrel."

Amy's face flushed bright red, but she chose to ignore Omega's comment. "What is their relationship anyway?"

"I don't know," Omega answered thoughtfully. "Sometimes they seem like siblings, other times they seem like a grumpy elderly couple or two people that want to rip each other's clothes off with their mouths, but won't because they fear they'll lose their jobs."

"I don't know how to respond to that," Sally said glancing at him before they turned sharply as they reached another dead end.

Amy gasped as if hit by a breakthrough. "Omega can't you use your awesome roboto abilities and get us outta here?"

"No, I can only lift my own weight for a few moments or use my power thrusters for momentum. I do have almost a limitless amount of weaponry so I could simply blow up every enemy that we come in contact with."

"Ugh," Amy groaned. "I guess that will do . . . But I still wish you could just transform into a plane or a tank or something." She continued to drag her feet behind Sally. After a few minutes she turned back to the robot. "I'm bored."

"The Earth echidna is an egg-laying mammal and in my opinion is more hideous to look at," Omega stated matter-of-factly.

"That was random, but kinda funny," Amy chuckled before noticing Sally had stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

"We've got company," Sally whispered in a monotone. Ahead of them was an Egg Pawn, the replacements for SWAT Bots in their time. "They were all supposed to be wiped out by Enerjak."

"Can I destroy it," asked Omega in a childlike voice.

"No, I want to," Amy argued like a spoiled brat not getting their way.

"Let's just get it!" Sally shouted interrupting what was surely going to end in the two of them bitching until the Egg Pawn spotted them. Sally did realize she'd lost her bracelet blades, but that didn't mean she couldn't kick ass.

They charged. Omega tackled it, bringing all its attention to himself. Omega had the advantage being stronger and larger. He threw giant hand across the Pawn's face, clawing across its eyes and screwing with its sensors. Amy was behind them in an instant, bringing her piko hammer to her out of thin air. She swung the hammer underneath the Pawn's feet; the Pawn fell backward with Omega on top crushing it with his weight. Using its shield the Egg Pawn threw Omega off. He flew past Sally and the ground shook as he collided with a wall. Sally grabbed a piece of bent metal that probably used to be part of classic badnik, she needed a weapon and in the field you had to emprise. The Pawn was on its feet again and lunging towards her. She dodged and then lodged the metal into its chest. It staggered right into Omega, who punched it in the chest. It tore through the air toward Amy. She jumped toward it and twirled her hammer straight into him. The Pawn flipped in midair and fell face first on the ground.

"Omega, now's your chance," Sally shouted, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she grabbed a large stone from the ground.

Omega threw his metal foot between the Pawn's legs which launched him into Amy's hammer once again. The Egg Pawn was getting impatient as this battle was proving to be more of a heated game of hot potato than a fight to the death. Amy's hammer guided the robot into a wall; it smashed then crumpled to the ground. The robot took no hesitation springing back onto its feet and pouncing at Sally, but she was ready for him. She ducked between his legs swiftly then slammed her rock onto its unsuspecting head. It dented deep into the Egg Pawn's metal skull. The Pawn's vision went haywire as it swung its sword arm blindly. Sally summersaulted out of its reach. Omega went in to finish the job. He dodged the Pawn's last attempts to save itself and brought his giant clawed hand onto the Pawn's head. It had been extremely weakened by Sally so one punch to the top of the head, the robot fell in defeat. The Egg Pawn's eyes died as it slumped to the ground.

"That was easy," Amy panted, whipping her hand so making her hammer disappear again.

"I enjoyed that," Omega responded in a somewhat humbled tone. "I hope we meet more of Eggman's hostile creations."

"I hope we don't," Sally said, dusting herself off. "We have no way to treat injuries out here so I think its best we avoid as much confrontation as we can."

"I'm still hunger," Amy whined as they began to walk again.

Sally groaned. _I'm going to go crazy if I have to listen to her whining for another day._

. . .

The loading dock on the Death Egg was surprisingly bigger than Sonic originally imagined. The group ducked behind a stack of boxes before being noticed by two passing badniks that were carrying a large crate. Fortunately, for them it was very dark so the badniks would have to be really looking to spot them.

"Alright," Shadow growled lowly as he hid his Chaos Emerald back in his quills. "We spilt up and meet back here in an hour. I don't care if you find Sally, Rose, or Omega; don't do anything unless the fox boy is there to disable the alarms. Destroy badniks if you have to, but the point of this is to not let on that we're here."

Sonic smacked his palm to his face as if he realized something important. "Shadz, what about your emerald? Can't the fat man's tech alert him that another Chaos Emerald just magically appeared on his ship?"

Tails gasped. "I installed the Tornado with warnings so it could tell me when a Chaos Emerald is close by. There's no way Eggman doesn't have the same kind of technology. He probably already knows somebody's here."

Shadow groaned inwardly. "Fine, I'll distract the Doctor while you idiots look around. All his attention will be on trying to get the emerald away from me so it should be easy for you morons to search this shit in the sky."

"But, Shadow, if Eggman does get the emerald away from you we are all stuck up here," Rotor commented as he put on his Nanite Battlesuit.

"Don't worry, Walrus. The Doctor will never be able to take my emerald from me. Now leave before you are seen with me." Shadow turned on his rocket skates and without even another glance at them he was gone.

"We should spilt up in teams," Bunnie stated as she grabbed Antione's arm, making him smile.

"Splendid, I'm with the fox boy," Rouge said smirking at him.

"Wait, what-why," Tails stuttered, shuffling his feet nervously.

"I used to work here, Foxy. I actually know where the holding cells are. Come on." Rouge flew up over the stack of boxes without making a sound.

Tails glanced at Sonic with a question obviously on his mind, but Sonic just nodded at him with a grin. "It's okay, bro. She's not gonna bite you just make sure she doesn't steal your wallet."

Tails returned Sonic's grin with a scold before flying after the bat.

"Good, now, Boomer it's you and Nicole and me," Sonic said cheerfully. He looked down at Nicole, who was in her hand held form. "You cool with that, Nicole?"

"Of course," Nicole said her voice sounding a little more robotic. "I think I might be able to map the Death Egg out for you if I can hack into Eggman's system."

"Just be careful Nicole," Rotor stated. "We don't want Eggman to know we're here."

"See ya'll later," Bunnie said as she and Antione disappeared smoothly out a side doorway.

"Ok I'm in the system, follow them through that door," Nicole informed them. "It appears Eggman has almost all of his badniks after Shadow so we shouldn't run into too much trouble."

"Great," Sonic said as they walked into a bright-lighted corridor. "Where is the Shadow-man anyway, Nicole?"

"He's on a higher level at the moment. I believe he teleported again to the cockpit to gain Eggman's full attention before running around and destroying things . . . Pick up your pace guys! Go right and run along the wall. I think I can get you to Eggman's record room."

"Aw, that sounds like fun! I wish the Shadz and I traded places." Sonic grinned. He always enjoyed destroying Eggman's toys.

Rotor and Nicole ignored Sonic. "I didn't know Eggman kept records of his wins and fails. Do you think we can figure out what he did with Amy, Sally, and Omega by looking through his documents," Rotor questioned from behind Sonic.

"That's what I'm hoping for. Take a left," Nicole responded.

Rotor and Sonic followed Nicole's directions quickly. The bright lights of the corridors almost blinded them and red alarm lights flashing bright enough to give someone a seizure. The sight reminded one of a hospital with fire alarms going off. Their footfalls echoing loudly down the hallway no matter how quiet they tried to run, but luckily Eggman's irritating voice kept booming over the intercom which outranked their footsteps. "YOU WASTES' OF METAL CAPTURE THAT DAMN BLACK RODENT BEFORE HE DESTROYS THE EVERYTHING!"

Sonic held himself back in a light jog so Rotor could keep up with him. "Of course, the fat man's racist," Sonic chuckled. "Where to now Nicole?"

"Just keep going straight, but there's a pair of badniks is ahead." Seconds after she completed her sentence the pair of badniks appeared before them. "Destroy them before they alert Eggman of our presence!"

Rotor threw himself at the bigger one. His weight alone made the badnik collapse. He used his Nanite suit to crush it with his hand once it was down. It amazed he that they were so much harder to destroy when he was just a kid.

Sonic mocked the second badnik. Speedily dancing around it as he dodged it's slow attacks. He grabbed it's claw, spun it around, until he threw it with all his might into a wall smashing it into scrap metal. He wiped his brow although he hadn't even worked up a sweat. "That was fun."

"Alright," Nicole spoke again. "Ahead there should be an elevator."

Sonic and Rotor jogged forward. "Yeah, here it is, Nicole," Rotor said, eyeing the lights above it.

"Ok, don't use it. Turn to your right and there should be a stairwell. This way your less likely to run into more badniks. Go up about three levels."

"Arugh," Rotor groaned. "I can handle facing death, but not stairs."

"Sorry, bud," Sonic smirked as he opened the door and looked at the first concrete steps. They were after all on the bottom floor. "I'm not going to carry you. I only do that for the chicks and for my little bro. I'll wait for you at the top." He dashed up the steps in a flash.

Rotor frowned in sorrow. "Ugh." He started walking up. "Note to self, fix Nanite suit to have better speed not just strength."

Sonic grinned down at his comrade as he got an idea. He hopped onto the railing and flew down again. "Hey, Boomer," he shouted happily as his shoes had embers flying from behind them.

"Cut it out you show-off," Rotor growled, but smiled despite himself.

. . .

Shadow sat in Eggman's "throne" with a bored expression. "Doctor, have I already beaten you?"

Eggman was at the speaker system yelling orders over the intercom. He didn't dare try to take on the Ultimate Lifeform himself, he was too smart for that. "Don't try my patience, Shadow! Hand over that emerald and get out of my Death Egg!"

"I'd rather not," Shadow said not even looking at Eggman. "I'm not finished humiliating you yet, Doctor. And I was considering taking a nap in this chair of yours."

"Your surrounded by my empire," Eggman scoffed. "There is no way for you to escape!" He turned away from the hedgehog, pushed his intercom button again and leaned into the microphone. "ALL BADNIKS GET INTO THE CONTROL ROOM IMEDILITLY! THE SCUMBAG IS IN MY CHAIR! SNIVILEY STOP HIDING IN YOUR BATHROOM AND GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT!" He huffed and glared back at the hedgehog.

Shadow stood up and smoothly walked toward the doctor. Shadow grabbed him toughly by the mustache, making Eggman wince in pain, and dragged him down to his level. "The only scumbag in this room is you." He shoved Eggman away enough to slap him sharply with the back of his hand. Shadow believed Eggman didn't deserve a punch like a man. He couldn't believe his creator Gerald Robotnik and his Maria were even related to the mad man.

Eggman fell to the floor after the assault to his face. He was furious. "HOW DARE YOU!" He stood up and slammed his hand over the intercom again. "SILVER SONIC V 3.0 GET YOUR ASS INTO COCKPIT AND KILL THIS FUCKING BLACK HEDGEHOG!"

Shadow smirked, showing his fangs. "Finally, a challenge, I would love to use your own technology to destroy your sky station, Doctor." He spun his green Chaos Emerald on his index finger casually.

All the color left Eggman's face and he became as pale as a ghost. He realized what the pest was saying all too well. Shadow was going to have the Silver Sonic chase him around the flying base, destroying _everything_ in his path to get to Shadow. "You fucking sly motherfucker! You tricked me, damn it!"

"It wasn't difficult," Shadow sneered as he strut towards a window. "You're a fool, Doctor, an embarrassment to your family. You've taken friends of mine and you will pay the consequences. Oh, and, Doctor?" He turned and looked at Eggman, an amused expression on his face. "I can leave whenever I want. With this emerald I can teleport wherever I choose, you fool. Trying to beat me is a fruitless effort."

"Is it," Eggman snarled. "I may lose some of my ship and a few replaceable badniks, but you will meet your end, Shadow!" The sound of Silver Sonic's footfalls could be heard as he made his way up the stairs.

. . .

"Sonic," Rotor shouted in a startled tone. "We've got trouble!"

Sonic stopped running back up the steps and looked back at the walrus. "What's up, Rot? Is your body dying from use?"

"No," Rotor whispered, running past Sonic, grabbing his arm and dragging him up a few steps before Sonic turned around. "It's one of those Silver you's."

"Of course Egghead takes it everywhere," Sonic groaned in a whisper. "Great just what we need." He stretched his arms over his head with a grin. "I guess we'll just have to fight it."

"No you won't," Nicole said in a low volume. "We can't fight it. If it sees you guys it will alert Eggman and our mission to find Sally, Omega, and Amy will be scrubbed. You have to let Shadow handle it. Now get moving before it catches up with you. Go through the door and take a left."

"This mission sucks," Sonic scowled running ahead a little.

"Well, it's not like Amy and Sally got kidnapped for your amusement," Rotor grumbled bitterly under his breath.

"He didn't mean it like that Boomer," Nicole exclaimed.

"I know," Rotor responded as he jogged through the door after the speedy hedgehog. "It's just most of the time . . . I don't think he deserves either of them."

Sonic paused when his friend's words hit his ear drums. He felt guilt weight him down. _Rotor's right. They both deserve better. The only reason Eggman kidnapped them was to get to me and now I'm acting like all this is a joke . . . I don't know how to handle this. I never know what to do when stuff like this hits us. The pain comes and goes in waves. I miss them so much._

 **Aw, Sonic's all depressed now. Shadow's pissing off the evil fat man. Amy, Sally, and Omega don't seem any closer to getting out from when they started. I need to speed up this fricking story, I guess. I'll finish it though. I can't stand it when people start stuff then never finish it. Its annoying.**


	7. Chapter 7

Shadow ignored Eggman's ranting, turning again to stare out the main window of the control room. _Where could they be? I have watched over this planet all my life. I've seen every continent and every body of water, but somehow you have managed to hide them from me._ His ears perked as the Silver Sonic's footsteps began to become noticeably closer.

"My Silver Sonic will kill you, Shadow," Eggman hissed. "This is your last chance to surrender."

"I can't die, Doctor," Shadow murmured darkly, watching Eggman in the reflection of the window. "I'm an Ultimate Lifeform. If you believe your pesky machines threaten my being you obviously have paid no attention to the notes Gerald Robotnik left behind."

The Silver Sonic appeared in the threshold of the cockpit. "Priority one! Destroy Shadow the Hedgehog!" The massive machine leaped across the room with ease and cast its large shadow over the black hedgehog.

Eggman took the opportunity to throw himself at his controls. Silver Sonic may not be able to exterminate Shadow, but it made a good distraction. Eggman was puzzled by Shadow's sudden hostile attack. He was suspicious that something else must be happening. Shadow was not like, Sonic, who would attack for the joy competition and love of making the doctor appear weak. Shadow would only attack if he had reason to. Eggman knew better than to believe the dark hedgehog was only striking for the vengeance of Omega. He pushed the intercom button again. "ATTENTION ALL BADNIKS, WE HAVE BEEN BREACHED! SEARCH THE SHIP FOR SIGNS OF SONIC, THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS, AND THAT THEIF BAT! KILL ON SIGHT! . . . METAL SONIC, SEARCH THE SHIP AS WELL! BRING ME SONIC'S HEAD!"

 _So the Doctor's caught on to me._ Shadow gritted his teeth as he turned to face the machine before him. _We've run out of time. I must get back to the loading dock._ "CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow tapped into the Chaos Force and threw a concentrated green spear of energy toward the Silver Sonic. _But first I must destroy this machine so I can teleport to the loading dock without the threat of it following me by the energy signature of my Chaos Emerald._

Silver Sonic was thrown backwards on impact, crashing only a few feet from Eggman. Sparks flew from the broken monitors and touch screen control panels as the massive machine released itself from their hold. "Priority one! Kill Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform!" It threw itself to the floor, rolling speedily in a spin dash. It cut across the ground, making an ear-splitting sound as metal and metal scraped against each other.

Eggman shouted a curse as Shadow jumped gracefully into the air, flying above the machine to land where it once had stood. Shadow smirked triumphantly as the Silver Sonic's high speed made it unable to stop from hurtling through the main window. Glass sprinkled the room while the Silver Sonic disappeared into the forest below.

Shadow turned on his heel. "I believe that creation will not manage to survive such a height," he sneered loudly over the roaring wind.

Eggman ignored the dark hedgehog's comment, too busy holding onto his control panel for dear life. The broken window was like a vacuum, sucking all of his plans and newer blueprints out of the room. "METAL SONIC, REPORT TO THE COCKPIT! AND SNIVLEY GET YOUR ASS TO THE LOADING DOCK AND GRAB A COUPLE OF BADNIKS TO FIX THE FUCKING BROKEN WINDOW IN HERE," Eggman screamed into the intercom microphone.

. . .

Tails wiped the sweat from his brow as he followed Rouge down another corridor.

They both flew up high, their backs almost sliding against the ceiling. So far they had avoided trouble, but after Eggman's order, his badniks were everywhere. It was making Tails nervous. They were so close to reaching the prison cells, but the farer they went the thicker the mob of badniks got.

"Rouge," Tails panted from behind her. "We have to get back to the loading dock. Eggman's on to us."  
"Hell no, I'm not leaving until I either find them or know they're not here." Rouge smashed a MotoBug under her heeled boot.

"We'll be no use to them with we get captured too," Tails reasoned.

"Fox boy," Rouge growled, turning to him sharply. "If you want to go then do it, but I'm not going back until I see those prison cells."

Tails expression softened, he understood how she was feeling. "

"I'm not going anywhere." He straightened and stood beside Rouge with new determination.

Rouge smirked. "That's better. Now keep up we're about to do something stupid." Before Tail ask she took off with a powerful flap of her wings.

Tails rushed after her, spinning his tails again in a helicopter motion.

They flew lowly this time, brushing the badniks off like flies. Rouge in the lead, they took a sharp turn into the stair well. They gained speed as they flew to the bottom floor. Once reached, Rouge swiftly slammed into the stairwell door, breaking it off its hinges.

The corridor containing the holding cells was dark and smelled of chemicals. Tails felt the walls until he found a light. The hallway filled with blinding white light. Without hesitation, Rouge and Tails ran to each and every room, checking each one closely, but to their own frustration and disappointment they didn't find their friends. Instead they found only empty rooms with no sign that their friends had ever even been present.

Rouge signed in defeat. "Let's get off this shit stain sky station."

Tails bit his quivering bottom lip as he nodded in agreement. _I just want everything to be like it was. I wanna go home._ Tears escaped his eyes and into his fur. Thoughts of the old days in Knothole filled his mind. _I want my family back._

. . .

Rotor and Sonic had made wreck to Eggman's Death Egg file room. Yet, they had found nothing hinting the where abouts of Sally, Amy or Omega.

Sonic threw a chair across the room in anger and frustration. "Fuck it all," his voice cracked. _This is so fucking hopeless._

Rotor was holding back tears, but refused to give into defeat. "Sonic, we can't give up. M-maybe Nicole can find something in Eggman's computer system?"

"I could look," Nicole said softly from her hand held self in Rotor's trembling paw. "But to do so we'd have to go to the cockpit. I fear that may be impossible with every robot on the ship looking for us." Nicole silently wished their friends had already found Sally, Amy, and Omega in the holding cells, but knew better than to put all her hope in it.

"Let's do it anyway," Sonic said hoarsely. _I can't take this. I have to punch something. I'm going to lose it._ "Even if we don't find anything in the system we can beat answers out of Eggman."

"I can guide you guys there," Nicole offered. "But there's one problem. The original plan was for us to find Eggman's report room then get back to the loading dock. If we go to the cockpit we may miss our ride back to the forest and we'll be stuck up here. Shadow will leave without us."

Sonic pushed his bitter depression away and faked a grin. "Come on, Nicole, have a little faith in, Shadz. Besides I got an idea."

Rotor, thankful that the blue hedgehog had broken the tension, smiled, "Oh Chaos, this can't be good."

"Hey," Sonic laughed good-naturally. His normal self was returning again. "Why don't you go back and I'll go to cockpit with Nicole? We'll be faster without you dude and you'll be safe."

"But, Sonic, we can't just leave you guys for dead."

"Boomer, I'm the fastest thing alive," Sonic reminded him. "We'll meet you and the others in the loading dock in a flash. It'll only take a sonic second."

"Sonic's right," Nicole confirmed. "It will only take me a minute or two to go through Eggman's computer system. We shouldn't be too long."

"Sonic may be the fastest thing alive, but he has the nasty habit of being late," Rotor commented, crossing his arms. "You guys can't go! The cockpit's at the very top of the Death Egg and we're on the second to bottom floor. We need to group up with the others and get out of here before we're captured."

"Sorry, Rote," Sonic said, shaking his head. "But, we're going. Get to the loading dock." He snatched Nicole out of Rotor's hand. "See ya later." He jetted out of the room, sending papers flying.

Rotor ran his hand down his face and groaned in frustration at the blue hedgehog. Sonic had never been good at surrendering or retreating when people (other than Sally) were bossing him around. Rotor sighed as he reached into his green tool belt to retrieve a lighter. He stood in the door frame, lighting a piece of paper on fire then he threw it in with the rest. _The least I can do is provide them with a distraction. Most of the badniks will instantly come to put the fire out before it catches to more of the ship instead of chasing Sonic. This thing may be mostly made of metal, but there's nowhere for the smoke to go._ Rotor smirked to himself. _The smoke will go into the air vents and go up to the other floors. This should distract the badniks perfectly. They'll be too busy trying to figure out where the smokes coming from._ He pushed a button on his communication watch, "Gang, I lit a fire in the file room so get ready for some smoke. It should distract the badniks. We need to get back to the loading dock before this ship's air is completely poisoned."

"Great idea, Sugar," Bunnie's voice called cheerily from his device. "We're on our way."

"Great idea," Antione repeated nervously. "Zat's going to get us all suffocated!"

"Not if we get out of here fast," Tails claimed.

. . .

Sonic speed dashed through a small army of badniks only to find Metal Sonic guarding the door to the stairwell. Sonic gritted his teeth. "I don't have time for playdate, pal." He high jumped over the robot that resembled him and darted through the door.

Metal Sonic was right on his heels as they zoomed up the steps. "Priority one! Kill Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Sonic, turn right," Nicole shouted from his clenched hand.

Sonic bolted right through another stairwell door. "Nicole, we're supposed to be going up to the cockpit!" He ran down the hallway the door had brought him to, stomping on badniks as he did so.

"We are! I know a better way to get there and it will get Metal Sonic off you! Now turn right again!"

Sonic zipped to the right leading him down another corridor, but this one had a dead end. "Nicole!" He couldn't stop. The rubber bottom of his shoes made an ear-tickling sound as they grinded against the metal floor, but he couldn't stop.

"I know! But Sonic _trust_ me! Speed dash through the wall! It's not made of metal! Eggman's hiding a secret doorway to his weaponry behind it!"

Sonic quit his attempt to stop and instead put all his power into his legs. His legs blurred as he gained speed. "Ok! But this isn't going to be pretty!"

"Sonic, when you go through the wall put your feet up to stop yourself from colliding with the secret door behind it!"

"Great! That means that one's made of metal, doesn't it!" He rolled into a ball as his speed only increased. He hopped off the ground with a grunt and flew through the air.

Sonic crashed through the wall easily as if it were made of paper. He spun uncontrollably through the air, during it he somehow managed to stick his feet out. His ankles popped when his feet hit the metal door, causing him to hold back a whimper of pain. As if that weren't enough, gravity wanted a turn to bully him. He fell down a couple feet and grunted throatily when his back met the cold solid floor. All the air had been pushed out of his lungs and his head clapped against the floor; making black spots cloud his vision . . . _I'm so off my game today._

Metal Sonic's luck was worse however. He had never stopped chasing his opponent and had no knowledge that there was another door behind the wall. It couldn't shut it's back engine off fast enough when realizing the danger, although, it didn't do him any good. Having no way to stop in time he flew head-first into the thick metal door. The robot's head cracked on impact and it's limbs smacked on the door in following. Metal Sonic made an eerie droning sound while it fell harshly upon the floor in a crumbled mess.

Sonic sat up and rubbed his sore ankles "It sucks to be you." He grinned while the robot remained unresponsive. "Nicole, that was brilliant!" He staggered to his feet.

"Thank you. I over looked this earlier, believing it was unimportant for our mission, but I realized it could be used as a weapon when Metal Sonic appeared."

"Nice, but now what?" Sonic inspected the gigantic door, finding nothing, but a strange screen pad next to it.

"Simple, really. What password do you think Eggman would use?"

Sonic smirked at the guessing game. "Probably, something like ' _Sonic will die, I'll be king of Mobius, and I'll spent the rest of eternity masking my insecurities and loneness with food."_

Nicole laughed. "No, actually I was thinking more like ' _I hate the anthropomorphic animals that disease this planet."_

"Password accepted," the screen pad attached to the wall spoke.

The door slide open, revealing Eggman's weaponry that was fully stocked with all of Eggman's favorite weapons and vehicles. The weaponry even had a testing area.

"That's two for two, Nicole. You're on a roll today." Sonic walked into the massive room; his footsteps echoing. "Where's the other door?"

Nicole laughed again. "Who said anything about using the door?"

. . .

"That's it! I can't take this wandering around anymore," Amy said, voicing her frustrations yet again.

"Do you have any better suggestions," Sally questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'm going to climb one of these stupid walls and see what's what," Amy answered, stopping as they came to another dead end. "There's gotta be a way to get out of here." _There better be. I can't stand the thought of dying without at least one_ _successful_ _date with my Sonic._

"Amy, these walls are too smooth to climb," Sally warned as she came to stand beside her. "You're going to hurt yourself." _And then we'll have to carry you and get to listen to your "delightful" complaining._

"I concur," Omega said, joining the conversation after what felt like hours of him remaining mute.

"Whatever," Amy grumbled under her breath. _I either die the slow painful death of dehydration or I die quickly by falling of this damn wall. Yup! Either way it's a loose loose situation. Lucky me!_ She ignored Sally's worrying voice in the background as she climbed the wall. She cleverly used the itchy vines that clung to it to fight her way to the top. Soon Amy was lost in the task of hiking that she was surprised when she stood at the top. The view made her nauseous.

. . .

Sonic quirked an eyebrow, although, he knew Nicole could not see him. "Not following, but I have a feeling this going to be thrilling."

"If you look to the front of the room there should be some flying vehicles. Do see them?"

"Yeah," Sonic said, strutting towards the other side of the room. His breath caught in his throat as he ventured closer. _Oh, Chaos._

Leaning against the wall was Sally's hover board. It looked like it had gone to hell and back, but Sally's initials still shown craved into the blue paint job.

"Sonic?"

Sonic shook his head. "Yeah, I got a hover board. Where to now, Nicole?" He gulped noticeably as he stared at the air vent below him that had begun to puff black smoke out in cool rolling waves. _I guess Rotor's fire hasn't been put out yet._ "We need to move faster."

"I know which is why you're going to break a window, sail up to the cockpit, I'll get the information we need, and then we'll leave. And the others don't have to worry about waiting for us because you can use the hover board to get back to the forest."

"Gotcha," Sonic said as he quickly backed away from the air vent. Turning to the task at hand, Sonic jetted toward the large widow that provided the spacious room with natural light. "Um, Nicole, this window kinda looks bullet-proof."

Nicole made a sound that resembled a sigh. "Break it regardless. I know you can do it."

Sonic smirked at the challenge, confidence boiling shamelessly in his veins. He sprang into the air and home attacked the tinted glass. It cracked and became brittle. After retreating backwards in a summer salt he skid across the floor. He gritted his teeth at the stubborn glass and glanced at the smoke collecting at the ceiling. He stuffed Nicole in his sock then took Sally's board in both hands, Sonic darted forward. He jumped, spun in midair and slammed the board against the glass, forcing it to break.

"Whooooo," Sonic screamed in joy as fresh air blew into his fur and quills. He free fell for a millisecond before slamming his feet onto the Sally's board. He controlled it easily, gliding smoothly up the top of the Death Egg. "Here we go." He chuckled at the sight of enormous hole that Shadow had created in the cockpit. He zoomed inside to find a bunch of badniks urgently watching Eggman and Snivley argue.

Sonic walked past them with a grin. He searched the main controls for a moment before finding a connecting slot. He plugged Nicole into it. "Ok, do your stuff."

"Alright, give me a moment," Nicole said. "Now try _not_ to gain their attention before I'm finished."

Sonic pouted as he crossed his arms defiantly.

. . .

"Where's the Faker," Shadow questioned as he appeared from the fading green chaos light.

Rotor rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, Sonic and Nicole have this new plan to gain some information because we couldn't find anything useful in the Eggman's file room."

"Yez," Antione agreed, shuffling his weight from one leg to the other. "Zey are going to hack into ze doctor's computer system from ze cockpit."

Shadow cursed under his breath. "If he was going to do something stupid anyway I don't understand why we bothered with a plan." He turned to Rouge. "I assume you and the fox didn't find anything in the cells."

"Yeah," Rouge grumbled. "Not a fucking thing."

"It smelled like bleach in there," Tails added. "Which means they may have been there once and Eggman got rid of the evidence?"

"Sugar, are ya suggesting that Eggman killed them in there," Bunnie asked with a horrified expression, taking off her cowboy hat and looking away. "And he cleaned up their blood?"

"Maybe," Tails whispered sorrowfully.

"No," Rouge said, shaking her head. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. She hugged herself.

"B-but," Antione said in a cracking voice. "Zey can't be gone."

Rotor sniffed and stared at the floor. "Guys, I mean, it is possible that they-

"Enough," Shadow growled angrily. "They will be named alive until I see the bodies. As for Omega, Eggman could have easily deconstructed him for spare parts, but I will not believe such until a see it with my own eyes. So enough. They are alive."

Everyone looked unconvinced and miserable, but Shadow didn't care. He couldn't imagine the squirrel princess, or the bad-tempered hammer-wielding hedgehog, or his metal-heavy teammate dead. _They cannot be dead._ "Now let's get off this piece of shit. After all you idiots left a six year old alone in a forest."

"Hey wait," Tails protested. "We have to wait for Sonic and-

"No," Shadow snarled. "I said I'd leave whoever was too slow or stupid to get back to the loading dock in time and I meant it! Now shut your face and let's get out of here."

They all bitterly joined hands at Shadow's order.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Instantly, they disappeared within flashing green light.

 **Sorry, I take forever to update. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


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